Six Months Old

Michael is doing very well. His statistics are as follows: weight 16 lbs (16th percentile), height 27 inches (60th percentile), and head circumference is 43 cm (20th percentile). He is reaching all of his developmental goals for his age, and other than the occasional heat rash, is just perfect! We are still waiting for his first tooth to appear, and the only signs that it may be coming is the excessive drool, but he has been doing that for a couple of months now. We can feel the teeth there, but they just don't seem to want to poke through. He is eating about 35 oz of formula a day, plus a vegetable at dinnertime. He eats all varieties of veggies: carrots, peas, green beans, squash, and sweet potatoes. He will eat the occasional fruits of either pears, applesauce, and bananas, but we don't give them to him very often though, because they seem to constipate him (sorry if that's TMI).

We are still really working on getting him to sit unassisted. We practice everyday, but he is still a little wobbly. He seems more interested in standing, and he arches his back and wants us to lift him up. But we keep at it!! He has been trying to "crawl" lately too. He gets his knees bent underneath him, lifts up onto his arms, and can actually move a couple of inches, but that's about it. It's only a matter of time before he is mobile!!

Tear Duct is Clear!

For the past three days, MJ's eye has been free of goop and crustiness, so we think that the tear duct has finally cleared! We are very happy that he won't have to go through surgery to probe it open now. The eye is still a little droopy, but we continue to see improvements there also. It seems each day he opens it a little wider. Hopefully his eye appointment in June will be his last!

Premier Landscaping

Earlier this year, in March, we decided to start a new business. It is called Premier Landscaping, Inc. It was something that we had talked about doing in the past, and the timing was right for it to finally happen. Mike attended Vincennes University and Purdue University to study in this field, and worked for a local landscaping company for several years. It is his passion, and we are excited that he was able to get back into it again, and to be his own boss. Since it's inception, Mike has been very busy. In March and early April, he was doing mostly "spring clean-ups." Now he has been spending 3 days a week creating and maintaining landscapes, and spends the other 2 days mowing. He thought he would have more mowings than landscapes this first year, but because of the demand, landscapes have taken more of his time. So far, the landscapes have been small enough for him to handle by himself, but we hope that he will eventually land some larger, more elaborate jobs. It may not happen this year, but you never now! He has had a few more people contact him to do mowings, but he thinks he may have to start doing them on Saturdays if he takes them on, which he is willing to do. All this manual labor has been tough on Mike's body, but he is finally starting to get back into shape, and he has lost about 15 pounds so far. He loves it! Right now he still has time to come home and spend time with the family, and we hope that it stays that way.

Mother's Day

This weekend will be Mother's Day. Last year I was a "Mom-to-Be," but this year I will get to celebrate for the first time as "Mommy." I am looking forward to it! Our day sounds like it is going to be pretty full, visiting with everyone and celebrating our moms! Next week I am going to be heading to Tampa, FL for work. It is a conference for all the controllers of Champion to sit around and discuss budgets, forecasts, taxes, auditing, etc. I am going to miss my boys so much, as this will be my first time away from them since Michael was born! I think Mike was a little nervous about taking care of the baby by himself, but I think he will do a great job! He does quite a bit to help me out now, and has taken care of him a couple times when I was laid up in bed with the flu. Plus, he has a couple of grandmas that will be there in a flash if he needs help or a babysitter! I am going to end up missing Mike's 31st birthday on Saturday, but I decided to stay a couple of days after the conference to have a "girls weekend" with my best friend, Jennifer. She is coming to Tampa Thursday night, and we are going to Ft. Myers on Saturday, then heading home Sunday night. We decided to take this opportunity to hang out together- just the two us us, since we aren't sure if we will have an opportunity like this again for a long time. Who knows, next year I may be pregnant again!

Spit Up and Rashes

We've been having a little bit of a tough spell this past week. We tried MJ on a new formula, but it did not go over well at all. It turns out that the daycare will provide formula for the babies throughout the day, but they only buy certain kinds, and of course none of them are what we have been using. We have him on Enfamil A.R. Lipil, because that is what has been reducing the amount that he spits up. We didn't have a spit up problem while I was breastfeeding, but the more formula we worked into his diet, the more spitting up became an issue. Anyway, in an effort to help us spend less on formula, we decided to try some of the other kinds that the daycare carried. The first day we tried this, I got a call from W.O.W. at around 1 o'clock saying that he wasn't keeping anything down, so I had to leave work and bring them his normal variety. He still spits up with the A.R., but not nearly as much as he does with anything else. So much for saving some money. Then this Saturday he developed a rash on his forehead. It didn't appear to be spreading, and even looked like it cleared up on Monday, but this morning when I dropped MJ off, it looked like he still had some bumps. I may break down and call the pediatrician if he still has it tomorrow. I am trying to figure out what is causing it. I think it is an allergic reaction to something. I think I can rule out a food allergy, because I hadn't given him anything but formula Friday and Saturday morning. I did give him pears for the first time Saturday night, but the rash had already started before that. I am definitely keeping an eye on it.

Slept Through the Night!

At 5 months, and three days old, MJ finally made it through the night! He went to bed around 8:15 p.m., and we woke him up at his usual time of 6:30 a.m. I did hear him make a small sound once, but when I went in his room to check on him, he was sound asleep. No crying, no pacifier, no back pats. It was heaven! Let's see if it continues, or if it was a fluke!